The Choices We Make
by Birdie-Romanova
Summary: While investigating the seemingly unrelated disappearances of several people from an Iowa motel, Sam and Dean cross paths with an odd hunter by the name of Elliot, who holds the answers to questions they haven't thought to ask, as well as a hauntingly familiar face. As the danger thickens and time runs out, Sam and Dean must decide who to trust before another innocent dies.


Alright so I've moved this fan fiction from my old account onto this one! This is not a rip-off story or a copy, it's still my story, just on a new account!

Full Description: While investigating the seemingly unrelated disappearances of several people from an Iowa motel, Sam and Dean cross paths with an odd hunter by the name of Elliot, who holds the answers to questions they haven't thought to ask, as well as a hauntingly familiar face. As the danger thickens and time runs out, Sam and Dean must decide who to trust before another innocent dies.

AN: So the beginning of this story is a little warped so hang with me. The beginning is set a little within the first and second seasons, but the episodes are going to be a bit out of order. A little after Jess's death, but in my story, Dean and Sam already know about the demons and about what killed their mom. I'm not sure where I'll take this. just a past time thing. please review!

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Dean opened his wallet with a frustrated sigh. "Look-" he said, "I know you loved Jess. Hell, she seemed sweet. But you can't just go on blaming yourself for what happened." He handed the waitress his card with a wink. The brunette blushed and took it, running it through a small portable device. There was a whirring sound and a slip of paper was spit out.

"Thank you very much." She smiled. "Have a nice day."

"You too." Sam mumbled, looking down at the sandwich in his lap. "I didn't tell her, Dean." He began as the waitress walked away. "If she'd known-"

"Mom knew." Dean revved up the engine of his sleek black car and peeled away from the Park & Dine. "And the demon killed her anyway. There's nothing you could've done." He struggled to unwrap his tinfoil covered burger while steering the Impala through the busy streets of southern Iowa with his knees.

"Put your hands back on the wheel." Sam said uncomfortably as the car swerved dangerously. "I should've warned her."

"Sam, she would've thought you were crazy. Besides, you didn't know." Dean was trying to empathize with his brother, but this scene was getting old. Sam would mope, Dean would try to assure him that it wasn't his fault. Over and over again. Dean figured that Sam just needed to break down and cry already. That way he could finally begin to heal. It was always easier to stitch up a wound if it was clean first. Dean figured it was the same way with emotions. You couldn't heal an emotional wound if it was infected. If Sam would just CRY for gods sake. Or go into a rage, or anything, just to drain that mental infection and patch himself up. But the man was stubborn as an ox. It was as if he refused to believe he'd been hurt. As if he didn't face the truth, it never happened. "Hating yourself for something you couldn't have stopped isn't going to bring Jess back." Dean finally got his meal unwrapped and took a big bite.

Sam shrugged and leaned his head against the window of the car, watching the rain droplets slide along the glass. The gentle drizzle from before had turned into rain with a vengeance. Dean was right, of course. But that didn't help matters much. With a frustrated sigh, he turned to the crumpled map on the dashboard in front of him. "Turn off the interstate here onto...Fairview." He pointed to a darkened exit farther up the road.

Dean scowled. "It doesn't look very inviting."

"I bet it would look nice if it were sunny out."

"Maybe-" But the frown on Dean's face deepened as he turned on his blinker.

The dirt crunched under the Impala's wheels as it was directed onto the road, the trees blotting out most of the already minimal light, forcing Dean to switch on the high beams. There was less rain though, the thick foliage sheltering the ground below. "You think they'd make their motel a little more accessible." He slowed his car to a crawl, the potholes in the road worsening with every turn.

Sam noticed movement out of his window and cupped his hands around his eyes to see into the darkness. "There's a person running up there-"

"Yeah I see her. I think she's just a jogger."

"A guest at the motel?"

"She's headed in the right direction, so probably." Dean slowly drove up beside the girl. She was average height, 5'6" or 5'7", with mud stained white sneakers and a blue jacket over a pair of running shorts. When she noticed their presence, she stopped running, pulling small white buds out of her ears with a smile. Intrigued, Sam rolled down his window.

"Hi!" The girl said, her cheeriness a stark contrast to the gloom around her. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah- um.." Sam looked at his brother, realizing with embarrassment that he hadn't thought this through very well. "We were looking for Fairview Motel. Are we in the right area?" He asked dumbly. He deserved the answer he got.

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Well, you're on Fairview." She pointed out. "And there's only one way to go."

There was something about the eager way she scanned both he and Dean with her blue-green eyes that was unsettling. Excitement rolled off her like steam.

"Ah- thanks." Sam replied slowly. "Have, um, fun on your jog."

The girl flashed a lopsided grin. "Yeah. I wasn't expecting the rain- but here it is." She shrugged in an 'oh well' sort of way.

"Do you want a ride?" Sam shot his brother a look. Dean returned it, just as surprised as Sam. He hadn't really meant to offer the girl anything, it just sort of popped out.

The girl brightened. "Sure!" Her reply was too quick in Sam's mind. There was something off about her, but he couldn't quite place it. She hopped into the backseat pulling back her rain dotted hood and released a waterfall of straight, ashy blonde hair tied tightly into a ponytail. Side-swept bangs framed her face. "Thanks!"

She was cute, Sam realized. And with the dimple that appeared when she smiled, he thought she looked uncomfortably familiar. Dean must have thought so too, because he stared at her for a second before turning his attention to the road.

"So what's your name?" He asked, glimpsing a speck of light through the thick trees that had to be the motel.

"I'm Elli. Elliot actually, but everyone just calls me Elli." She paused for a moment before she continued. "Oh! What about you two?"

"I'm Dean." Dean punched Sam in the shoulder lightly. "This here's my brother Sam." Dean realized that the girl wasn't listening, but was instead staring intently at the interior of the car. For some reason, she looked a little sad.

"Do, uh, you have any brothers or sisters?" Sam asked after the silence grew awkward.

"Um, yeah. Two brothers." Elli slid her hand along the smooth upholstery.

"Oh yeah? What are their names?"

Elli hesitated. "John. John and Percy." She shrugged. Sam narrowed his eyes.

"So they're at the motel with you?" He pressed. He was growing impatient with the nervous energy radiating from the blonde.

"No..." Ellie confessed slowly. "I'm here alone."

Dean arched an eyebrow, surprised. "Really? What about your folks? They let you come alone?" He asked, "what are you, like, fourteen? Fifteen?"

Elli scowled. "Eighteen, actually. And my parents- they're dead."

"Oh." Another uncomfortable silence fell over the car.

"Well, thanks for the ride back." Elli said as they pulled into the empty motel parking lot. It was a cheery looking place. Warm yellow light spilled through the windows, and flowers bobbed with the silver rain along the stone walkway to the door.

Dean nodded. "No problem." He replied as Elli clambered out of the car. "Nice to meet you."

Elli gave a small finger wave, her previous cheeriness returning as she bid them goodbye and bounded down the walkway to the front door. As she reached the front steps, it flew open, and a heavy set woman charged out to embrace her. She said something, and Elli smiled sheepishly before being hustled inside.

"That kid gives me the creeps." Sam said, staring at the door she'd disappeared through.

Dean arched his brows at his brother. "Really? I thought she was cute."

Sam rolled his eyes. "She's here alone? Where is her car? And who was that woman?"

"Calm down Sherlock, you'll get your answers I'm sure."

"She looked so familiar-"

Dean suddenly grew serious. "Mom."

"What?"

"She looks like mom. I was noticing that too." Sighing, Dean shrugged it off.

"Whatever. Let's go in."

When they opened the door to the motel, the brothers were surprised to find themselves walking into the middle of a hushed argument. The girl and the woman, a large woman with dark skin and frizzy hair, were standing behind the check in counter. The woman had a hard look on her face, while Elli, spinning lazily on a stool, looked blank, letting the woman's words slide over and through her brain like water on glass. With a hiss, the woman grabbed the sides of the twirl top stool to stop it. "Elli-" she said with a musically accented voice, "He's out there tonight- you can't be out there past dark- you know this."

Elli leaned forward and kissed the woman on the cheek. "Who said I wasn't lookin for him?" She asked with a cheeky grin. She hopped off her stool and got a light buffet on the back of her blonde head as she scurried away. Dean cleared his throat, and the woman jumped, looking towards the pair in the doorway.

"Oh my gracious me!" She said with false cheeriness. "I didn't know you were there!"

"Yeah, well, kids." Dean smiled.

The woman sighed. "This ones been a trouble for me for about two years now."

"Two years huh? Where'd she come from?"

The woman's face grew guarded. "Are you two here to check in?" She asked, ignoring Deans question.

"One room. Two beds." Sam said.

"Well, most of our rooms come with just one bed," the woman apologized. "But we do have couches in each."

Dean looked at Sam questioningly. Sam shook his head. "I am NOT sleeping on a couch."

The woman smiled tightly. "I can send Elli up with a cot." She interjected. "How many nights?"

"Just one for now." Dean handed the woman his credit card. "We'll decide tomorrow if we need to stay another."

"Alright," She rummaged around in a drawer under the desk and tapped a few keys on the ancient looking computer in front of her, "here are your keys. Follow Elli up to your room. If you have any problems, just call the front desk and ask for Maani. That's me." She moved away from her desk and rolled her shoulders. "Elli!" The girl was at her shoulder before the word was out of her mouth.

Maani frowned. "Take these two up to their room." She gave Elli a room number on a card. Elli smiled at Dean and Sam, nodding.

"Sure!" She reached for Dean's duffle bag. Dean began to protest, but Elli seemed to be un-phased by the weight, even though that particular bag held more than a few of Dean and Sam's weapons. He saw her muscles strain with effort as she slung the bag onto her shoulder, but her face showed no indication of struggle, as if she'd been expecting the weight. He glanced at Sam, who shrugged.

"Your rooms on the second floor. 203." Elli explained as they began to head up the narrow stairs. "Maani said you want a cot brought up?"

"Umm, yeah.." Sam marveled at how easily the scrawny kid carried on the conversation while hauling the heavy weapons bag up the steep steps.

"I might see if Nathan will bring that up. Those are kinda heavy."

Dean snorted.

"I'm serious!" Elli glared playfully at Dean. "Okay, so they're not SUPER heavy, they're more...bulky. Hard to maneuver. Nathan is taller than me so it's easier for him." She pushed the door open at the top of the stairs and held it open with her foot to allow Sam and Dean to pass.

"You always so chatty with strangers?" Dean asked, a tad rudely. Elli tripped, but caught herself against the wall before she fell. She rearranged the bag on her shoulder and swallowed.

"We don't get a lot of new people around Fairview. Mostly just the same faces as they're passing through during the holidays each year." She stopped at a door and handed Dean his bag. "So I don't have a lot of people to talk to."

"Well what about this Nathan?" Sam inquired. Ellie raised her eyebrows at him questioningly, and he was shocked by how similar she looked to his brother.

"What about him?" She asked.

Dean opened his mouth to answer with something crude, but stopped and shook his head. "Thanks for showing us to our room kiddo."

Elli's face turned red, but she covered it quickly with her hand and pretended to stifle a yawn. "Yeah no problem. Call the desk if you need anything." She smiled at them before leaving the room.

Dean shrugged his coat off with a smirk at Sam.

"What now?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I think she likes me." Dean commented smugly.

Sam gaped at him. "Dude! She's a kid."

"She's legal."

"I can't believe it. You wanna do her!" Sam stared at his brother, aghast.

"Dude!" Dean turned to look at Sam, a look of mock hurt in his eyes. "She's a kid!"

"Yeah that's really mature, Dean." Sam rolled his eyes and unzipped his duffle bag. While the one Dean held was full of weapons, Sam's duffle bag held both he and Dean's clothes. As he rummaged through it he said, "Alright, give me the information again."

Dean perched on the edge of the bed and read from the back of a crumpled receipt. "Six hikers over the past 2 years, maybe some before, all in the area."

"Anything they had in common?"

"All traveling alone. Youngest was 19, Mark Zimmerman, and the oldest was 28, Denae Holden. They were all residents of the one and only Fairview Motel." Dean shoved the paper into his pocket and rolled his shoulders. "I'm thinking a Wendigo."

Sam nodded. "One problem with that. There have been more travelers through this area since the last disappearance, and in between disappearances. Wendigos aren't known for their self control. Or for having types. So why THESE travelers, and not the others?"

"Would a Wendigo be able to survive on only three bodies a year?" Dean wondered aloud.

"If it did, it would be very hungry."

"And so then why have travelers been able to come through here without being attacked between each disappearance." Dean finished Sam's thought for him. "So, what? Werewolf?"

"Maybe, but they don't survive on human flesh."

"Because they're human during the day. Hmm. But werewolves attack anyone, and other than the basics, the victims don't have much in common. And at a place this far out..." Dean looked over Sam's shoulder at the screen he'd pulled up. "So say it is a werewolf. Where would we start? It could be anyone working here. Maani, the kid, or this Nathan guy; and we don't even know of they're the only employees. There could be more."

"Just follow them around and see if any of them smell like wet dog?" Sam suggested distractedly.

"Yeah well then you'd be suspect as well."

Sam glared at his brother. "Good one." He tapped his fingers against the computer keys thoughtfully. "We need to find out if there's anyone else working here."

Dean stretched his arms lazily. "I'll go take a look around." He offered.

"I'll ask the front desk to send up a couple more shampoo bottles." Sam replied, reaching for the rooms phone.

Dean glanced at him skeptically. "Shampoo?"

Sam scowled. "I want to talk to Elli. She might know something."

"And if she does what makes you think she'll tell you?" The girl had seemed rather close with Maani, and Dean wasn't sure she would willingly offer any information that could get the woman in trouble.

"Mostly I just want to figure out what her deal is. Where she came from, why she's here, and if she got here after the attacks started. That way we could rule her out as a potential werewolf."

"And rule her in as a potential victim. You're right though, she seemed pretty open and chatty. She might let something slip."

Sam shrugged as Dean headed out the door. He waited a few minutes before picking up the phone, thinking about what he would say. It dialed automatically to the front desk. It hadn't finished it's first ring when it was picked up.

"Hello Sam!" Elli said.

Sam was taken aback for a moment. "How'd you know it was me?"

"ESP."

"Really?"

"No!" Elli laughed before whispering conspiratorially, "I just saw Dean snooping around. I don't think he knows I saw him. Tell him not to wear red next time."

Sam struggled to find words. Elli's brain seemed to turn at 100 miles per hour, and he was having trouble keeping up. "Uh- okay.." He stumbled.

"What was it you needed?"

Yet another 180 topic change that threw Sam completely off. This was a bad idea, inviting her up for a chat. He'd be lucky if she slowed down enough to let him stay on track. "Shampoos. Shampoo, sorry. I need a few more shampoo bottles if you could." He could almost hear Elli's smile.

"Yeah of course I'll bring them up now!"

"That'd be great... Thanks." He hung up the phone and rested his head in his hands. Was he that spazzed when he was her age? Surely not. It hadn't been that long ago. Four? Five years? But then again, he was always on the road. Always meeting new people. He didn't know where Elli came from, but he knew she'd lived the last two years in a small motel that could hardly be called 'bustling'. Maybe she was just excitable, like a barrel of gun powder that had been slowly filling more and more every day, and he and Dean were the sparks.

Elli put down the phone and rushed into the back room, pulling out a box of bottles. She stuffed three little bottles of shampoo into one pocket, and three bottles of conditioner into the other.

As she scurried down the hallway, the travel bottles clicking together in an orgy of orange scented cleanliness, she saw a flash of red duck quickly into an open room. She paused, knowing it was Dean. Hesitantly, she peered into the room. Seeing nothing, she sighed. "You're really predictable, you know." There was no answer. "Come on Dean, I know you're in here." The silence stretched tight across the interior of the room. "Don't make me come find you. Neither of us will like the result-"

"Who are you talking to?" Elli spun around to see a tall man standing in the doorway. He had pale skin and shoulder length black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"Nathan!" Elli smiled "you're back early! I thought I saw a mouse."

Nathan arched a her black eyebrow. "So you're talking to it?"

Elli shrugged. "Figured it was worth a shot." She said lamely.

Nathan smiled kindly, reaching out slowly and tucking a portion of Elli's long bangs behind her ear. "Would you like me to give it a try?" Without waiting for an answer, Nathan closed his eyes in consternation.

Dean, tucked under the bed, suddenly felt a tugging sensation, as if invisible hands were clawing at him, trying to drag him out from his hiding spot. Horrified, he clenched his teeth and dug his fingers into the shaggy carpet.

"Nathan, it's not important." Elli protested quickly. Instantly the invisible hands ceased their persistent pulling. Nathan shrugged, running his hand down Elli's arm affectionately. Elli smiled at him. "You going to be around for a bit?" Her question was hopeful, but her smile fell when Nathan shook his head.

"I have some business to deal with." He demurred with a sad smile.

"Oh."

Nathan ruffled the girl's hair, then chucked her chin. Elli slapped at his hand, a small grin spreading across her face despite herself as Nathan strode away chuckling.

Dean watched all of this from beneath the bed, his own frown turning to a look of confusion when Elli's face turned stoney the moment Nathan was out of sight. She stuck her head out into the hallway and looked around before closing the door. When she turned to face the room again, Dean was looming over her. Strong hands were placed on her shoulders and Elli was shoved backwards against the door. She gasped.

"What the hell was that?" The growl was low, holding hints of danger if the girl didn't answer quickly. Wincing, Elli lifted her finger to her lips. Dean grabbed her wrist and twisted it behind her, turning her around to face the door. "What. The Hell. Was that." He repeated, "Don't make me ask again."

"You need to back off me, Dean." Elli hissed. "You're hurting me. I don't think straight when I'm in pain." That was a gamble, and Dean realized that Elli was not frightened. He couldn't help but admire her a little. His fingers were tight enough around her arms that he was sure there would be bruises, yet she talked back to him like that. It was so stupid, it could almost be something he would have done. Hesitantly, he loosened his grip.

"If you scream, I will cut your throat before you can blink." Before Elli could respond Dean pushed her away from the door, putting himself between her and the exit. He opened his mouth to speak, but Elli held up a hand.

"Before you say anything, I'm trying to help you. You and Sam. I want to help."

That shocked him, and it took Dean several moments to figure out what to say. "I don't know what you're talking about." He took a threatening step towards her, but she held her ground.

"I know why you and Sam are here. I know about the missing people."

Dean froze. "You do?"

"Yeah. Look, I don't want to talk about it here. Maani or Nathan might hear. Just, let's go up to the room. We'll get Sam, and I'll tell you everything I know."

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Thanks for reading! feel free to drop a review if you think I should continue!


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